Dead Trees, Memories and Mistletoe
by Serene Ice Dragon
Summary: Shion, having read a book about the once-celebrated holiday of Christmas, decides to bring the dead holiday back, and wants Nezumi to celebrate it with him. One-shot containing silly bickering, angsting, comforting, and fluff. ShionxNezumi.


_Author's Note: It's been far too long since I've written a Christmas special fic. After finishing watching the No. 6 anime (again) and having recently read the novels, I decided that a Christmas special was in order. I figured that Shion would be the type to read about Christmas, and decide that it needed to be celebrated and that Nezumi was going to celebrate it with him and he would make sure Nezumi enjoyed it. This was mostly inspired by my Nezumi, who I thank for reading this over for me. The little argument about the Christmas tree was inspired by an internet friend of mine who cosplays Nezumi on Gaiaonline. We had a similar conversation on there and I decided it had to be put into the fic as well. This is slightly late, but I typed it all up last night on a sudden whim in the midst of baking when I decided it had to be done and it had to be done now. It's still Christmas though, so it still counts, right? Anyway, enough of my rambling. Enjoy this little one-shot, and happy holidays to you all, regardless of what you celebrate!_

* * *

Nezumi wasn't surprised when he found the door to his room unlocked. He expected Shion to be visiting- he had been sent a letter via Tsukiyo informing him a few days before. Shion had insisted they make an extra key in case he stopped by when Nezumi wasn't home. Normally, Nezumi would have told him no way and left him to wait, but Shion could be unusually convincing at times. He figured it was harmless enough- Shion would certainly never steal from him. He was more worried about Shion leaving the door unlocked- as he apparently did- and somebody else breaking in. Shion certainly wasn't skilled enough to defend himself from somebody from West Block.

"Shion, how many times do I have to tell you to lock the door when I'm not here?" Nezumi said as the threw his scarf onto his bed. "If somebody decides to try waltzing in while the door is unlo-" he stopped.

There, standing in the opposite side of his room, was a small evergreen tree, Shion standing in front of it.

"Shion...why is there a tree in my house?"

"Oh, Nezumi!" Shion said cheerfully, "It's a Christmas tree!"

"A...Christmas tree?"

"Yeah! I read about Christmas in one of your books...Christmas is on December 25th of every year. Today is the 15th. Only ten more days! So, I figured I better start decorating!"

"Shion, there is not enough space in this room for a tree."

"But, look, it's small enough. There's still enough room."

Nezumi shook his head. He couldn't believe this. "They make a mess, you know. And you have to keep watering them. I'm not going to take care of it when you aren't here."

"I'll take care of it! Things aren't as busy in No. 6 anymore, so I have time to stop by. I could even stay here for a bit."

"Okay, so you'll pick up the pine needles and water it. But trees are also a fire hazard. Last thing I need is a fire burning all my books."

"It's no more of a fire hazard than your room already is. You used to have books scattered everywhere before I picked them up, and your room never caught fire because of the heater before."

Well, he did have a point...

"Trees aren't meant to be indoors. It'll die. It may be a plant, but it's still a living thing."

"It is going to die anyway. The trees are cut down before anybody buys them. Apparently some of the other city-states still celebrate Christmas. At least, some people in them do. It's not such a big holiday anymore. Anyway, I figure the least I can do is give it as long of a life as possible before it withers."

"Fine" Nezumi said, throwing his gloves to the side. "Fine, keep the tree. But you are responsible for it. I don't know why you want to celebrate a dead holiday anyway."

"It'll be fun! You can help me finish decorating the tree!"

"It's your tree. You decorate it."

Shion frowned. "But...it's no fun to do it alone. Please?"

Nezumi sighed- something he immediately felt awkward about. He had been taught never to sigh in earnest-it was a sign of weakness. But, the more time he spent around Shion, the more he found himself sighing. While he was starting to get used to the idea of being attached to somebody, he still had a way to go before he was completely comfortable with it.

"If I help you decorate, will you leave me alone?"

"Mm! I'll even make you some hot chocolate when we're done!"

Hot chocolate...he hadn't had that since...

Since Shion rescued him all those years ago. He could still remember how good it tasted. Since then, the only kind of warm drink he had was hot water. Tea or coffee was very rare in West Block. It would be nice to taste that hot chocolate again.

Shion pointed to a small box of various ornaments that was placed on the floor beside the tree. Most of them were red, green, white and silver metallic balls, some with designs and some just plain. There was an assortment of other trinkets as well- all of which looked delicate. Silly things, really. Why waste money on fragile ornaments to decorate a tree with? What was the point? People were so materialistic. It looked pretty, so they had to have it. Apparently, Shion was no exception. He knew Shion knew the value of a dollar, so why did he insist on wasting money on pointless things?

"How much were these?"

"Not much." Shion replied as he gently placed a shiny red glass ball on one of the branches.

"Not much for who? Somebody from No. 6, I'm sure."

Shion frowned. "Well...okay, I splurged a little. They really weren't that much money. But, sometimes it's okay to buy unnecessary things, right? I didn't buy a lot of them. I just...wanted us to celebrate. Whether you are religious or not, Christmas is a time to be with the people you care about. The decorating isn't necessary, but I thought it'd be fun to put a little up to get into the spirit, and its nice to look at when you're done. I used the rest of the money to donate to charity."

"Charity, huh?"

"Mhmm. To help families with children in West Block who are still struggling. Even if they don't celebrate Christmas exactly, they still deserve reason to celebrate. After all, things are getting much better now- for both No. 6 and West Block."

Nezumi couldn't help but smile to himself. Shion was always thinking of others, so it wasn't surprising, but he still had to admire the boy's determination and compassion. While he once though Shion was foolish and naïve, he appreciated him more and more.

Okay, Shion was still pretty foolish and naïve, but sometimes, that third option really was possible- that gray area really did exist.

Times were beginning to change.

"Nezumi? Are you going to put any ornaments on or what?"

Shion's voice snapped Nezumi out of his thoughts. "Oh. You seemed to be enjoying yourself so much, I thought I'd leave most of it to you."

"It's more fun if you help, you know."

"Alright, alright."

Shion had been right. He really hadn't bought much. There seemed to be just enough to make the tree look nice without drowning it in decorations. The string of lights wound throughout the branches were a nice touch too. It hadn't taken them long to decorate it. And, once they were done, Shion, true to his word, made the two of them each a nice mug of hot chocolate.

"Mmm." Nezumi sipped the drink. "It's good."

"It's one of my favorite drinks! It's wonderful in the wintertime."

"Just like that night."

"Hm?"

"It's the same exact hot chocolate you gave me five years ago. You know, after I snuck into your house and threatened you with a spoon, which you reacted to in the strangest way. I still can't believe you laughed. You almost died."

"It was pretty amazing. Besides, like I said before- you were injured, and you didn't look that dangerous."

"I looked like a girl, is that it? You know, Safu seemed like a girl who could hold her own- I wouldn't make lightly of anybody who looks girly."

Shion got quite, staring into his cup. "Safu..."

"Shion?"

"I miss her..."

Nezumi frowned. Perhaps mentioning Safu wasn't such a good idea. He thought Shion would be past grieving by now, but apparently he hadn't. Though, with everything that had been going on, perhaps he hadn't had time to properly grieve.

"She would have loved this, I think. I would have invited her over here, and we could have all decorated the tree together. She might have knitted us both sweaters." A drop fell from Shion's chin and landed in his cocoa. A teardrop, Nezumi recognized. Shion hunched over his cup, shoulders shaking.

"She should have been here to celebrate with us. She should have been here..."

Nezumi placed a hand on Shion's shoulder, wanting to comfort him. Shion put down his mug, buried his face in Nezumi's chest, and sobbed.

"I miss her, Nezumi. She didn't deserve to die! She was my best friend...she was my sister. She did so much for me, and I wasn't able to do anything for her! I couldn't even save her! I let her down! I..."

Nezumi pulled back slightly, hooked his finger under Shion's chin, and lifted his face. Shion quieted as their eyes met- though his still overflowed with tears.

"Shion. What happened to Safu was unfortunate. But, she didn't die in vain. If it wasn't for her, we would have never made it to the Correctional Facility's core. We would have never been able to destroy the Mother. We probably wouldn't have made it out alive. I know you're sad, but if you want to do something for her, then honor her by remembering that she helped to bring about the change you wanted to see in the world. Celebrate for her. Live for her. She wouldn't have wanted to see you sad. She would want you to fight for what you believe in. Remember: She left the fate of No. 6 to you. She knew what was going to happen to her, and she trusted you to take over. I don't think she regretted her decision, so you shouldn't regret it either. Perhaps you can dedicate this Christmas celebration to her."

Shion sniffled and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "Y-yeah...you're right..." He took a tissue that Nezumi was offering. Hamlet, and Cravat jumped onto his shoulders with Tsukiyo on his head. "Ah, Cravat, Hamlet, Tsukiyo...you guys too? ...Thank you."

Reaching up, Nezumi wiped one last stray tear from Shion's cheek. "Safu would be proud of you, Shion. I am too."

"Nezumi... Sorry about that. I just...I couldn't help it."

"It's fine. Hey, what are the rest of those decorations for?" Nezumi nodded toward a second box he had noticed on the floor.

"Oh! Those are just some other things we can put around the room if you want. Snowglobes, tinsel, extra lights, candles..."

Nezumi wrinkled his nose. "I think the tree is enough."

Shion smiled. "Alright. I can give the rest to somebody else."

"Gonna donate those to West Block residents too? The kids might like those. Hey, you gonna finish your cocoa?"

"Oh, yes." Shion picked the mug back up and drained its contents. Once he was done, Nezumi took both mugs and carried them over to the pile of dirty dishes that needed to be washed.

" Oh, I did put up something else though..."

Nezumi followed Shion's gaze. There, dangling from the ceiling above the couch, was a small piece of mistletoe.

"It's mistletoe."

"I know what it is."

"It's kind of a tradition around Christmastime."

"Yeah, I've heard of it."

Shoin was silent for a moment, as if expecting something. Why wasn't Nezumi saying anything about it? "...When two people sit under it-"

"They're supposed to kiss. I know. Just because Christmas is a dead holiday doesn't mean I don't know about it."

It was silent again. Shion was trying to calculate what to do next. Wasn't he giving enough hints? Maybe Nezumi just didn't care. Why else would he ignore the tradition? He watched as Nezumi took a seat on the couch beside him again, this time with a book.

"Tradition should be honored."

"I was never one for traditions."

"Well can't you be just for tonight? You said we can celebrate Christmas!"

"I said we can decorate the tree. I didn't say anything about following any other traditions. Why are you getting so flustered?"

"I-I'm not getting flustered! You're just being difficult!"

Nezumi smirked from behind his book. "Difficult? How so?"

"You just-...I was trying-...you won't-"

Watching Shion struggle, Nezumi couldn't help but laugh. It was almost sad how hard Shion was trying. Cute, though.

"Why can't you just-!"

Shion never finished his sentence. His lips were suddenly seized by Nezumi's- whatever he was about to say completely forgotten about. Once he'd gotten over the initial surprise, Shion relaxed and leaned in to the kiss. His arms slid around Nezumi's neck almost automatically as Nezumi brought himself closer. Nezumi's arms wrapped firmly around Shion's waist, which Shion was partially convinced was somehow going to keep him from just melting into a pile of goop. When Nezumi had kissed him before, it hadn't been anything like this. Of course, that time was quite nice as well, but now it seemed like nothing in comparison.

As reluctant as Shion was to let go, he eventually had to let Nezumi pull away. Nezumi laughed.

"Your face is so red right now."

At the mention of his face being red, Shion just blushed more, making Nezumi laugh harder.

"I don't think I've ever seen your face this red before, and that's saying something."

"W-well, what do you expect after you do something like that?!"

"It's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"U-uh...well...yes...but I didn't expect..._that_."

Nezumi smirked. "If you think that's good..." He leaned in closer, dropping his voice to just above a whisper. "just wait."

Shion felt the heat in his face- and it wasn't just from Nezumi's breath tickling his ear. He wasn't entirely sure how he was still sitting up. With how hot his face was, he would expect that he should be melting into a puddle on the floor by now. It was no wonder people were so easily persuaded when Nezumi asked them something. He was quite sure that he would have willingly jumped into a river of molten lava if Nezumi had asked him like that.

Nezumi just smirked at Shion's speechlessness. "Well, if we're gonna celebrate Christmas, I think you need to read some of the Christmas classics." He stood up and walked over to one of his bookshelves, picked out one of the books, and tossed it to Shion. "Better get reading." Shion nodded, but his eyes weren't fixed on the book at all. Nezumi turned away and instead brought his attention to the dishes that needed washing. Perhaps this whole Christmas thing wouldn't be so bad after all.


End file.
